Power supply to xenon ARC lamp interface

Abstract

An arc lamp system comprises a power supply coupled to a xenon arc lamp through an interface constructed on a heavy printed circuit board. Such plugs directly into an igniter printed circuit board. In turn, a xenon arc lamp module with heatsinks plugs directly onto banana plugs bolted on the interface printed circuit board. Copper traces buried on inner layers of the interface printed circuit board are very wide and heavy, and kept as short as possible.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. An arc-lamp power supply to arc-lamp interface, comprising: 
       a printed circuit board (PCB) for providing mechanical support of a modular arc lamp assembly;  
       a pair of power input connectors on a first side of the PCB for connecting to an arc-lamp exciter;  
       a pair of power output connectors on a second side of the PCB and positioned for a sliding connection to said modular arc lamp assembly; and  
       a pair of patterned copper foils disposed in the PCB and each providing a powerplane-type connection between corresponding ones of the pairs of input and output power connectors;  
       wherein, electromagnetic interference (EMI) is reduced and power transfer efficiency is improved.  
     
     
       2. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of patterned copper foils are about 0.75 inches wide.  
     
     
       3. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of patterned copper foils lie within a common plane and are on-edge to one another.  
     
     
       4. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of patterned copper foils lie within a common plane and are normal to a printed circuit board base for said arc-lamp exciter.  
     
     
       5. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of power input connectors comprises spade-type connectors to allow dissasembly of said exciter from the PCB.  
     
     
       6. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of power output connectors comprises banana-type connectors to allow removal of said modular lamp assembly from the PCB.  
     
     
       7. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the PCB is about 0.125″ thick and comprises G10-FR4 fiberglass-epoxy material.  
     
     
       8. The interface of  claim 1 , wherein: 
       the pair of patterned copper foils each comprises two separate parallel copper foils patterned in the same shapes on both sides of the PCB and connected together at each end by the input and output power connectors.